Forum's new project focuses on child-resistant fastenings

ECHA/NI/15/20

Inspectors in 15 Member States will check the safety of packaging of hazardous substances and mixtures that consumers use.

Helsinki, 3 June 2015 - The inspections will run from July to December 2015 and focus on consumer products with hazardous substances or mixtures requiring child resistant fastenings. Typical products include lighter fluids, disinfectants, cleaning and laundry products as well as drain openers.

Besides child-resistant fastenings, the inspectors will also check the full packaging: it should not be misleading so that consumers would confuse it with foodstuff, animal feed, medicine or cosmetics. The tactile warnings of danger should be present as well.

The inspections will be aimed at downstream users, specifically formulators, re-importers, re-fillers and re-packagers who supply mixtures for the general public, and importers of mixtures. Distributors, including retailers, will also be targeted as they are the main source of supply to the general public. Manufacturers of substances may also be inspected for compliance where there is evidence that they sell substances intended for the general public.

The requirement to close a packaging with child resistant fastening exists both under the Dangerous Preparations Directive and the Classification, Labelling and Packaging Regulation (CLP). Child-resistant packages are defined as ‘difficult for young children to open (or gain access to the contents), but possible for adults to use properly'.

The requirements for child resistant fastening, non-misleading packaging and tactile warning complement each other. The aim is to improve the safety of consumers, particularly children.

This is the Forum's first project with a focus on enforcement of specific packaging requirements. The report will be published in June 2016.